The most “independent” Nintendo Direct returns to close 2023 with dignity: here is the recap of all the announcements from November’s Indie World
Well yes, the Big N wanted to give us one last gift before fine 2023 with the younger brother of Nintendo Director theIndie World Of November: there have been ads for all tastesand our usual recap will allow you to catch up on the event if you missed it last night. In more ways than one! If you haven’t seen it but want to catch up on it in its entirety, you can find it below. In case you just need a refresher of what you tasted in those 20 minutes of material, or you don’t want to watch it in full and prefer a simple summary… well, you know us by now: that’s what we’re here for, right? Amber, Andrew, lead the way!
Shantae Advance | Indie World: recap of all the November 2023 Nintendo Direct announcements
Indie World starts “strong but not too much” like any self-respecting Nintendo Direct, and the one in November 2023 is the first of many announcements capable of satisfying almost all the palates of lovers of the independent scene. Shantae Advance, now twenty years after that missed 2001, rises from its ashes! Matt and Erin Bozon, creators of WayForward’s half-genius, talk heart-to-heart about “Risky Revolution!” which has spent an entire life in gestation. The game, which narrowly escaped development hell, returns with its revolutionary ideas (such as the continuous transition between the foreground and the background, in a way inconceivable on Game Boy Advance) and a 4-player local multiplayer. 2024.
Core Keeper | Indie World: recap of all the November 2023 Nintendo Direct announcements
If there is a box for the “hybrid” farming sim on your Nintendo presentation bingo card, you can already tick it without too many hesitations. With Core Keeper the partnership sees Zelda-style gameplay with a view from above as an incoming genre, and the cave of relics that trapped the protagonists initially attracted by the artefact does not fail to include the indispensable randomly generated biomes. In all this, between cultivation and survival against the hordes of monsters, there is also room for customizing your avatar, whose equipment can naturally be upgraded. Estate 2024.
On Your Tail | Indie World: recap of all the November 2023 Nintendo Direct announcements
From the publisher Humble Games and the very Italian boys of Memorable Games, here the Ligurian Cinque Terre conquers, after the big screen, also video games. Borgo Marina is the theater of the events of On Your Tail, a furry revisitation of the north-western Italian coasts in which to experience the holiday that has always taken away from us the unrealistic desire to “stay forever”… also gathering clues to solve the mystery of the shady masked figure who wanders around the hamlet. Diana the detective and the rest of the cast await us, along with secondary activities such as fishing and arcade, the next year. The game is the first temporal exclusivity of the presentation.
Howl | Indie World: recap of all the November 2023 Nintendo Direct announcements
The mysterious Prophetess lost her brother to the Howl’s curse, but remained immune to it due to her deafness. This is the premise of Howl, a “turn-based tactical fairy tale” with an irresistibly Celtic flavour. Everything is illustrated as if the action came to life in a notebook, while we even sip our movements. Yes, because turns are consumed even to move from one part of the game board to another. Will we be able to discover the truth about our brother’s fate night after night? Well, talking about waiting for dawn is perhaps out of place… because the game is the first shadow drop of the presentation, ed Its free demo is also available!
The Star Named EOS | Indie World: recap of all the November 2023 Nintendo Direct announcements
In this apparent graphic adventure there seems to be room for a bit of everything. Characters placed on the music box? There are. Map to analyze during a train journey? Certain. Letters and lunches to review with photographs? You can swear by it! The camera is the cornerstone of The Star Named EOS, described by Silver Lining Studio as a “narrative puzzle game.” Between a bonfire and a downpour intent on putting it out, a “moving story of love and understanding” awaits us in a hand-drawn world. To find out the reason behind our mother’s disappearance we will have to wait next spring.
Backpack Hero | Indie World: recap of all the November 2023 Nintendo Direct announcements
If you loved the inventory management in some Resident Evil and Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, you will love the very premise of Backpack Hero. In what has been described as a “roguelike deckbuilder”, our aim will be to stock up on objects and arrange them in the bag properly in order to prevail over the enemies. In other words, organizing your inventory translates to more efficiency on the battlefield. Such a strange title will need more time in the incubator, right? But no: second shadow drop of the presentation, the game is already available for purchase on Nintendo eShop!
Blade Chimera | Indie World: recap of all the November 2023 Nintendo Direct announcements
Making our way through the antics, we end up stumbling upon the foretold jewels. A Mega Man-like with a cyberpunk setting, in a dystopian Osaka of the future? Where should we sign? Blade Chimera bet everything on this appeal. In this side-scrolling action game, the demon transformed into a sword allows us, among other things, to manipulate time at will to recreate, for example, a recently collapsed bridge. Did we mention how much style the whole thing exudes? Because if you want we can also add the pixel art artistic style. Too bad we just have to wait next spring… but the game will be atemporal exclusivity per Nintendo Switch!
A Highland Song | Indie World: recap of all the November 2023 Nintendo Direct announcements
Although difficult for the average player, cinematic platformers are a genre that the indie scene has never failed to do justice to and this is the intent behind A Highland Song. The game world, Beltane, uses a gameplay loop similar to Limbo and Inside at first glance to transpose the “beautiful but inhospitable” Scottish mountains from which the developers come from into videogame form. All roads lead to the ocean, but there will be no shortage of back roads for protagonist Moira. Everything is then embellished with lots of beautiful folk music from northern Britain. December 5, 2023con pre-orders already open.
Moonstone Island | Indie World: recap of all the November 2023 Nintendo Direct announcements
Did someone say “life simulator”? Because the randomly generated hundred islands of Moonstone Island they are a way like any other of re-proposing and reinventing the genre. Our aim will be to explore the flying islands to become alchemists, but in reality the game will also include different gameplay elements. In fact, in the game we will find ourselves facing battles using cards, combining this feature with the creatures that we will collect in the adventure. Moonstone Island will be available next springand on the console front we have another temporal exclusivity.
Death Trick: Double Blind | Indie World: recap of all the November 2023 Nintendo Direct announcements
Directly from Misty Mountain Studios and Neon Doctrine we have a noir to investigate with an undoubted influence from Capcom’s Ace Attorney series. The two friends they created Death Trick: Double Blind they turned to the detective stories they have always loved, and this passion shines through both in the material shown and in their contagious pride in talking about the game. The circus setting comes from the intent to bring something new to the graphic adventure genre. We will shed light on the disappearance of the sorceress from Morgan’s traveling circus and on the investigator’s amnesia by putting together the various evidence within the limit of the number of actions that can be carried out on next year. But at least the demo is already available!
The Outer Wilds: Archeology Edition | Indie World: recap of all the November 2023 Nintendo Direct announcements
Annapurna Interactive’s winning horse makes its triumphant entry into Indie World. We highly doubt that The Outer Wilds needs introductions, but when in doubt we will still do them. In this first-person adventure into the cosmos, we will have to sift through the various planets to reach aboard our shuttle within a time loop. During gameplay a planet can change drastically, for example collapsing on itself. There Archaeology Edition for Nintendo Switch will include the DLC expansion Echoes of the Eyewhen the December 7. I pre-orders are already open, and the next year will come out in physical format. We didn’t say it, but leaker Pyoro knew about the announcement when he tweeted hours earlier about “marshmallows on the campfire.”
Concluding independent firecracker
It’s not a Nintendo Direct without one final bomb, and Indie World in November 2023 is certainly no exception. It’s about… the usual roundup, without a final bang. Thanking you for your attention as Amber and Andrew did, we leave you with the bulleted list.
- Planet of Lana: cinematic platformer, primavera 2024.
- Enjoy the Diner: text adventure/visual novel, shadow drop (available).
- Heavenly Bodies: investigative title with side-scrolling view, February 2024.
- The Gecko Gods: 90s-style free-exploration 3D platformer, primavera 2024.
- Passpartout 2: The Lost Artist: semi-adventure with drawing software, shadow drop (available).
- Urban Myth Dissolution Center: graphic narrative adventure in pixel art, 2024.
- Braid Anniversary Edition: puzzle-platformer with time manipulation, April 30, 2024.
Now it’s up to you to tell us yours: how many of you were hoping for Silksong? Let us know below, and as always don’t forget to stay on techgameworld.com for all the most important news for gamers and beyond. For your purely gaming needs, you can instead find the best discounts in digital format on Instant Gaming.