Nintendo has delivered a brand-new Indie World showcase. It lasted about 20 minutes and gave us a look at some cute and cozy games, a few of which are launching today. Unfortunately, there was no Hollow Knight: Silksong news, but there was still plenty to get stoked about.
Little Kitty, Big City
In Little Kitty, Big City, you’re the little kitty and you’re exploring a big city. This is a third-person game about doing cat things: knocking people over, jumping on things you shouldn’t be sitting on, rummaging through garbage, and helping other animals, all in an attempt to find your way back home. It looks incredibly adorable and far more lighthearted than Stray. Little Kitty, Big City launches on May 9.
Yars Rising
Yars Rising sees a return to Atari’s classic universe and all-time best-selling 2600 game, Yars’ Revenge. There have been various remakes and sequels over the years, but this take on the exploration-led action-adventure comes from WayForward, the team that brought us Shantae and Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp You play as Yar, as they run, jump, and hack their way through multiple environments to uncover the secrets behind a mega-conglomerate corporation. It launches later this year.
Refind Self: The Personality Test Game
An exploration-based adventure game, Refind Self: The Personality Test Game is all about an android finding out who they are after their creator has passed away. Talk to other characters, make decisions, and live your life by your own design. At the journey’s end, your personality will be described, with 23 types to discover. Are you an adventurer, a clown, a leader, or a samurai? You can find out when it drops on Switch this summer, or right now on Steam and mobile stores.
Sticky Business
Sticky Business, first revealed during 2023’s Summer Games Fest, is a small business sim about running a sticker shop. You get to create labels, add effects like glitter and sparkles, and fulfill customer requests, learning about who they are as you go. It’s cute and cozy, and will be available later today, along with the paid-for Plan With Me DLC, which adds more customer requests and over 100 sticker elements.
Antonblast
Antonblast is a high-speed action-platformer about getting your collectibles back from the devil. It looks ridiculously over-the-top, with a Saturday morning cartoon aesthetic, as you destroy levels and clobber bosses with your big-ass hammer. A demo will be available today (already available on Steam) before the game launches as a timed exclusive on November 12.
Valley Peaks
A first-person adventure game, Valley Peaks casts you as an anthropomorphic frog technician. You’ll climb, glide, and swing (with your tongue) around a lofi world to set up radio towers and fulfill other small-town requests. You can unlock equipment to make the perilous climbs a little easier, and more deftly cover previously explored ground. It launches this year, and there’s a demo out now on Steam.
Lorelei and the Laser Eyes
Lorelei and the Laser Eyes is a nightmarishly surreal third-person adventure game about a woman summoned to an old central European hotel to participate in some strange, unnamed project. You’ll solve puzzles with shifting mechanics and perspectives as you unravel the mystery behind the hotel, the project, and your involvement in them both. Lorelei and the Laser Eyes launches on Switch and Steam May 16.
Europa
Europa is a pretty 3D platformer about an android Zee, exploring the lusciously terraformed but mysteriously abandoned moon of Jupiter. You’ll solve puzzles, fly through the air, and navigate ruins, as you find out where the humans have gone. It’s giving The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild with some Ranking of Kings vibes, and arrives this year with a demo available today.
TMNT Splintered Fate
Openly inspired by Hades, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate is a roguelike adventure that’s already available on mobile devices. Here the four ninja turtles visit iconic locations and battle storied villains as you clear stages and collect powers up. TMNT Splintered Fate features drop-in, drop-out online multiplayer for up to four players and launches on Switch this July.
Cat Quest III
In this threequel to the action-adventure series Cat Quest, you’ll explore the Purribean. Get it? You’ve got ships to man, cannons to fire, and land to plunder as you save the world from pi-rats. (Blame the developer for the puns, not me.) It’s a charming little tale that sees you and a friend battling around an enormous map, completing quests, and frantically leveling up. Cat Quest III launches on August 8 and a demo will be available today.
Stitch
Stitch is a puzzle game about handmade embroidery. You’ll knit together groups of cells Block-a-Pix style, to complete hoops based on cute designs of bees, penguins, tigers, and so many more. It looks therapeutic, a calming experience between just you and the threads you weave. There’s even a daily Shikaku puzzle for a more challenging experience, if in-game needling becomes too easy for you. This is the one I’m most stoked about, and the best part? It launches as an exclusive today.
SteamWorld Heist II
A sequel to the 2015 2D tactics shooter, SteamWorld Heist II will see you engage in tense turn-based gunfights. Bounce bullets off the walls for a strategic advantage, and explore the world to experience real-time naval combat against enemy robots, while you assign your SteamBots roles via a new job system. Hopefully this can be a return to form, after the more disappointing SteamWorld Build. SteamWorld Heist II launches on August 8.
Since the Nindies showcase did a rapid-fire sizzle reel, let’s do the same thing here. Below are some games that popped up at the end of the presentation:
- BZZZT: a cutesy action-platformer that launches this summer, and came out on PC last year.
- Schim: a vibrant 3D platform game about leaping from shadow to shadow that launches on July 18.
- Animal Well: a pixel Metroidvania that launches on May 9.
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